Champions Mohun Bagan face Salgaocar test at home

by Kaushal Shukla January 16, 2016

Mohun Bagan look to continue their stride towards defending their I-League crown as they take on Salgaocar at the Barasat Stadium in Kolkata. While the Mariners marched on to a win against new boys Aizawl FC in spite of an indifferent performance, Salgaocar suffered a loss against Bengaluru FC in their own backyard.

New boss Malky Thomson did not have the services of Calvin Mbarga and Martin Scott against the Blues but the side will be bolstered by their return against the reigning I-League champions. “All my players have trained and I do not have any problems when it comes to injuries”, said the Scottish.

Last season’s standout player, Jackichand Singh will be deployed on the wings while Manandeep Singh might get a start against Mohun Bagan, alongside Daryl Duffy. In spite of creating chances against Bengaluru FC and scoring a goal, The Greens were guilty of spurning a few quality chances.

On the flipside Mohun Bagan turned in a poor performance but ended up comfortably winning 3-1 thanks to the brilliant partnership up front with Balwant Singh and Cornell Glen combining perfectly. While Balwant has a muscle strain, coach Sanjoy Sen is confident of Balwant, “If Balwant is uncomfortable, I will put in Jeje (Lalpekhlua) who is training with us and looks fit.”

Pronay Haldar, Brandon Fernandes, Luciano Sobrosa joined the team alongside Jeje. Luciano who impressed in the training match, will be paired alongside the standout performer of the first match – Kingshuk Debnath. Sen might be conservative and deploy a two man midfield of Bikramjit and Souvik after Souvik had to contend with the entire Aizawl midfield all by himself last time around.

Sen however said, “Hero I-League matches are difficult but we will go for three points as usual.”

While Mohun Bagan look to go marching on in their quest to retain the championship, Malky Thomson looks for his first three points of the season.

Press Release by I-League Media